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How Custom Fabrication Helps Manufacturers Enjoy the Holidays

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Click to Watch the Video

Industrial supply chains need to stay strong between Thanksgiving and the New Year. Learn how to make the most of your relationship with Elasto Proxy, an experienced custom fabricator of industrial rubber products.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Here at Elasto Proxy’s world headquarters in Boisbriand, Quebec, the leftovers are long gone from our Canadian Thanksgiving, which we celebrated on October 12 this year. Now it’s time for our Simpsonville, South Carolina office to enjoy a well-deserved holiday. Manufacturers have much to be thankful for this year, but consumer behavior will soon capture most of the headlines. What, if anything, can industrial buyers and design engineers learn? (more…)

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Trim Seal Compound Selection and Technical Design

Click to Watch the Bulb Trim Seals Video
Click to Watch the Bulb Trim Seals Video

Trim seals from Elasto Proxy are used for sealing and insulation, typically on doors and hatches. Learn about compound selection and technical design for these industrial rubber products. Contact us with questions.

Bulb trim seals are sealing and insulation products with bulb and retainer sections. The bulb portion is often rounded or teardrop-shaped, but may resemble a half-moon or have a flat bottom. The retainer portion of the seal has a U-shape with an open end and two “legs”. The bulb provides sealing and insulation under compressive force, and the retainer or trim section presses onto the flange or substrate.

Each section of the seal (bulb and trim) are made of different materials. In turn, each material has a different durometer or hardness to support compression. For technical buyers and product designers, it’s important to choose the right materials and account for design factors such as bulb size, gap or edge thickness, and minimum bend radius. The following sections explain. (more…)

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Rubber Meets Steel – Elasto Proxy Visits Pittsburgh

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Does your Pittsburgh-area company need to solve sealing and insulation challenges? Elasto Proxy is ready to help. Meet us in Pittsburgh from November 9 to 11, 2015. Request a meeting today.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is still nicknamed the Steel City, but there are no longer any steel mills within the city’s limits. During the 1970s and 1980s, the mills began to close and hundreds of thousands of jobs disappeared. Today, the Edgar Thompson Steel Works in nearby North Braddock is all that’s left of this once-mighty industry. Pittsburgh has re-invented itself, however, and now has a diversified economy that’s based largely on healthcare, education, and high-tech industries.

There’s a role for rubber and plastic in each of these sectors – and with steel, too. When Elasto Proxy visits Pittsburgh this week, we look forward to helping partners solve their sealing and insulation challenges. As an experienced custom fabricator, Elasto Proxy specializes in custom rubber and plastic parts for demanding applications. So whether you need rubber exhaust gaskets for stainless steel mufflers, plastic arms for industrial robots, or sanitary seals for medical devices, Elasto Proxy is ready to help. (more…)

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Why Robots Need Rubber and Plastic Parts

Robots Video | Rubber and Plastic Parts
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Rubber and plastic parts for robots are strong, lightweight, durable, and cost-effective. That’s not all.

When you were a kid, did you play with Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots? Part toy and part game, this childhood classic features two boxers – both robots – that are mechanically manipulated by the players. The Red Rocker and the Blue Bomber have been hitting each other since the 1960s, but today’s version of this simulated boxing match features less metal and more plastic. Plastics are generally lighter and cheaper than metals, but is plastic really tough enough for robots – even toy ones? Is rubber right for robots, too?

The answers may surprise you. (more…)

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How Custom Fabrication Strengthens Manufacturing Supply Chains

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Custom fabrication isn’t just about converting materials. It’s about strengthening your supply chain. Learn how custom fabrication improves quality, controls costs, and meets demanding requirements.

Custom fabrication is a type of manufacturing that turns stock items or materials into finished parts or products. Typically, these  items or materials are made of rubber, plastic, metal, concrete, or wood, and are supplied in standard forms such as sheets, rolls, tubes, rods, billets, bars, extrusions, and slabs. Custom fabricators use many different types of production equipment to cut materials to size, and some companies also offer value-added services such as joining and assembly.

A custom fabricator’s capabilities determine whether parts and products can be supplied in low, medium, or high-volume quantities. Global companies like Elasto Proxy have a network of warehouses, and can release custom fabricated products according to customer sales forecasts. We can also ship finished products on demand. Custom fabrication thus adds flexibility to the manufacturing supply chain, but does it add value to your operations? Industrial buyers and product designers need to consider a variety of factors, especially during vendor selection. (more…)

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Acoustic Foams for Noise Control in Vehicles and Equipment

Video - Acoustic Foam for Noise Control
Video – Acoustic Foam for Noise Control

Acoustical foams absorb and dampen sounds. Some of these foam rubber materials also provide flame resistance. Product designers need more than just an acoustic foam, however. They need a custom fabricator who can convert stock materials into a custom insulation solution.

Acoustic foams are used for sound absorption and sound dampening in applications such as military vehicles, commercial trucking, and equipment enclosures. They’re usually made of silicone, urethane, or foam-based melamine. Some acoustical foams offer additional properties, such as thermal resistance or fire resistance. For specialized applications, acoustical foams can be added as layers within “insulation sandwiches” that also contain fillers, adhesives, and barrier materials. (more…)

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How to Choose Rubber Weather Stripping

Video - How to Choose Rubber Weather Stripping
Video – Rubber Weather Stripping from Elasto Proxy

Rubber weather stripping provides either static or dynamic sealing. Sealing pressure is essential, and some elastomers are more resilient than others. Technical buyers and product designers need to compare open cell and closed cell rubber, specify the durometer or hardness, and choose the right compound.

Rubber weather stripping prevents the flow of air and water between two surfaces, such as a door and door frame. Standard weather stripping may be suitable for residential use, but applications in the automotive, building and construction, and electronics industries often require a custom sealing solution. Custom-fabricated weather stripping ensures part quality while speeding installation and reducing material waste.

But what do buyers and designers need to know about weather stripping selection? Let’s take a look. (more…)

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Rubber Truck Bumpers for Impact Resistance

Video - Rubber Truck Bumpers from Elasto Proxy
Video – Rubber Truck Bumpers from Elasto Proxy

Rubber truck bumpers from Elasto Proxy help keep trucks and trailers on the road instead of in the shop. Learn how these impact-resistant rubber bumpers meet ASTM standards, and are available in 10 different types for vehicle protection.

Rubber truck bumpers help protect trucks and trailers as they backup to loading docks, or when a driver opens the truck’s side doors. They absorb energy from low-speed collisions and low-force impacts while helping to keep trucks on the road instead of in the body shop. These rubber auto parts cost less than truck body repairs, and are easy-to-install with standard metal fasteners such as screws, bolts, and washers.

Rubber truck bumpers are made from elastomeric compounds that can withstand sunlight, rain, snow, and incidental contact with petroleum products and automotive chemicals. SBR and EPDM rubber are good choices because they can handle these road conditions while providing good tensile strength and abrasion resistance. (more…)

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NSF/ANSI 61 Gaskets for Drinking Water Systems

Video - NSF/ANSI 61 Gaskets for Drinking Water Systems
Video – NSF/ANSI 61 Gaskets for Drinking Water Systems

NSF/ANSI Standard 61 establishes health-related requirements for rubber seals and gaskets used in potable water systems. Learn how NSF/ANSI 61 can affect your project’s costs, how there’s a difference between NSF/ANSI 61 complaint and NSF/ANSI 61 approved materials, and how water jet cutting and infrared splicing create high-quality custom rubber gaskets.

Custom rubber gaskets that are used in drinking water systems need to be free from chemicals that can leach into water supplies and affect human health or cause unpleasant tastes and odors. Additives such as plasticizers, antioxidants, and solvents are designed to impart desirable material properties, but can react unfavorably with water treatment chemicals such as chlorine. Leachates from rubber gasket materials can also affect the formation of fungi, algae, and bacteria.

Technical buyers and product designers whose organizations specialize in drinking water systems are familiar with these problems already. Building and construction companies also need to understand the risks – and the requirements for mitigating them. By choosing a gasket fabricator that understands requirements such as NSF/ANSI 61, you can source the right materials and receive high-quality plumbing components that support your projects. (more…)

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Infrared Splicing for Custom Rubber Gaskets

Video - Infrared Splicing from Elasto Proxy
Video – Infrared Splicing from Elasto Proxy

Infrared splicing isn’t the same as hot splicing, but both joining techniques offer advantages. Which splicing technique is right for your custom rubber gaskets – and how do these film splicing methods compare to cold bonding?

Splicing joins lengths of extruded rubber to create elastomeric products such as hollow O-rings, low-closure force seals, and large-diameter profiles that are too expensive to mold.  Splicing methods vary, and choices include film splicing, cold bonding, C-press injection molding, and vulcanizing. By working with an experienced gasket fabricator, you can select the right splicing technique for your application.

Each splicing method offers advantages, but film splicing creates strong bonds without adhesives. This joining method also supports fast cycle times and creates strong corners that won’t crack. Film splicing isn’t new, but it’s important to understand how infrared splicing compares to traditional hot splicing. For larger seals, more durable splices, and an alternative to molded parts, IR splicing is a strong choice. (more…)

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